Reiki Flow

Greetings from Mother Earth

After my morning shower/Reiki call in I sat on the bed and grounded. My original intention was to contact Archangel Zadkiel as I did yesterday morning, to continue and better document a conversation we were having, but when I grounded I felt mother earth come through me so strongly that I pursued that. I immediately felt a strong connection through my root chakra, and felt it rise up inside of me, a presence larger than myself yet existing inside me. It was a powerful, serious, strong, serene.

Mother Earth spoke the following: “I am mother earth. You are part of me and I am part of you. Feel my ancient power and strength. You are like a blade of grass, a leaf on a tree, an animal that grazes on the grass, like all people who have been born out of my fertile soil. We are all connected to each other.

“I am mother Earth. Do not fear me, but respect me. I love you, but I can be austere. I love you, all my children, and I would die for you. “ That’s a serious commitment, and can hardly be taken as an idle one in this age. I felt a deep connection with the spirit of Mother Earth.

I immediately wrote her words as best I could, then asked for her guidance in pulling a card for the day. She helped me split the deck three ways then choose a pile. As I put my hand over each of the piles, the left pile felt a little cool, open to me. The middle pile seemed neutral (my rational mind usually puts me off taking the top card from the deck). With the right pile, I could feel my hand repelled, as though the cards and my hand were two magnets with the same poles facing each other. It was subtle, but it was definitely there. So I went back to the most welcoming pile on the left and pulled the Ten of Cups: joy, peace, family, abundance. I am so feeling those energies right now, letting in the light and the love. It’s a great place to be.

It’s going to be a great day, bright blessings to all. Enjoy your weekend, and be sure to share it with someone you care about.

Just for today, I will be grateful.

See a list of Reiki precepts

On Letting Go of Past Pain

There is a past relationship that sometimes makes me swell with anger and hurt. We split over ten years ago, and the pain doesn’t dominate my life like it once did, but on those occasions when it does come it’s like being caught in the tide, with a breaker rolling over me – it’s overwhelming.

In the riptide, I feel unable to pull away from the strong, negative emotions over the way I was treated, let myself be treated, and rebelled against it. Sometimes I’m even charged about things that never happened, but could, seeing how we had three children together.

I don’t often feel this way…anymore. I don’t like it when I do. It takes me out of the present, drains me and, most importantly, gets in the way of anything or anyone else I might be giving my attention to at the time.

Why do I have such a hard time letting go of such a painful past? Holding on to pain is “the devil you know”. There is comfort in familiarity, and you can get used to most anything. Letting go involves redefining yourself. Who will I be if I’m not this person anymore? It’s a shift into the unknown. What would it feel like to subdue righteous anger with unconditional love and forgiveness? Can I just choose to do that? If I do, am I being played for a fool again?

Since dealing with this type of issue is one of Archangel Zadkiel’s specialty areas, I asked for a little help this morning, and a message. I drew the Eight of Cups. A clear sign that it’s time to find a way move on, go deeper, drop the baggage, try something new. Sure, I already knew that, but it’s nice to have support.

Just for today, I will not be angry

See a list of Reiki precepts

Transiting from One Job to the Next at the Twenty-Post Milestone

Today marks the last day in my current employment situation. On Monday week, when I’m sitting in front of the word processor at my new tech writing job, I will actually have to devote time to writing for the company. (see “The Gift of Time” for background about this point).

I’m grateful to the company that I’m leaving for allowing me the space to reignite my writing creativity and start this blog. It’s OK. they know I didn’t have any work to do for them. I think they hired me out of wishful thinking that they would need my services, but nevermind.

Since this window of free time is now closing, I will have to get more creative around finding time to write for this blog, which might mean that posts are a bit sporadic in the short term. Next week will be focused on family time, then on to a new routine the week after.

I want to thank all of you who are stopping by to have a look, make a comment or click the like button. Knowing that you’re out there encourages me to keep this blog going into the next phase of my working life. I might not post regularly over the next couple of weeks, but it’s hardly the end – I’m just getting started.

Just for today, I will be grateful

See a list of Reiki precepts.

Info Share: Intersecting Paths – Pagan Thoughts about Jesus

Sometimes when I read an item that, to me, feels like a major shift, I figure I’m probably the last to know. But just in case I’m not, I’d like to introduce you to Mark Townsend, who has just published the book Jesus Through Pagan Eyes.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but from what I’ve read about Mark’s journey here and more insight into the conflict with his own “tribe” (his quotes) here, it sounds like an interesting read, especially for those of us who were raised Christian, and have since broadened our horizons and changed our attitudes towards organized religion, but don’t necessarily want to throw out the baby with the bath water.

Mark Townsend is a former clergyman in the Church of England, and is now a priest of the Open Episcopal Church, a member of the Progressive Christian Alliance, and a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

I recommend having a look at the links then making up your own mind whether this is something in which you’d be interested.

Everyday Gratitude

Before I made a conscious decision to more spiritually balance my life, gratitude was something that was reserved for times when I was on the receiving end of wonderfully fulfilled expectations or when I experienced great “luck”, while ingratitude was freely given for anything less than ideal or spectacular. Examples are listed in the following table:

Deserving of Gratitude	Deserving of Ingratitude
Winning the lottery	Winning €4 on the lottery
Being rewarded with praise after a job well done	Being treated like a normal person after a job well done
Being thrown a surprise party	Being thrown a surprise party
Getting the Christmas present you really, really want	Getting another one of those odd reindeer jumpers that your aunt Matilda knits
Being front row at a Springsteen concert	Being front row at a Barry Manilow concert
Watching the team you love win the championship	Watching the team you love to hate win the championship
Having enough money to go mad at the mall	Having enough money to get through the week

In short, I was a spoiled brat. Now I am a recovering spoiled brat, which is to say I am travelling down a path that leaves behind the dark, overgrown, twisted vines of sour grapes for the sun blessed green fields of gratitude. (Did I write that?)

As part of my recovery from being a spoiled brat, I’ve significantly revised my gratitude standards. For example, pretty much everything in the left hand column is now in the right hand column except maybe that jumper, but dear old Matilda did make an effort, God bless her. Winning €4 on the lottery is better than a kick in the pants, being at a Barry Manilow concert means someone thought enough about me to buy me a ticket (because I sure didn’t buy it), and having enough money to get through the week can be a truly great thing, especially when you’re teetering towards the alternative.

More and more, I find myself explicitly grateful for everyday things that I used to take for granted. It felt a bit forced at first, like something I knew I should do but felt awkward doing. Now it feels quite natural to be grateful for all sorts of little things, like finding the type of coffee cup I like in the office kitchen, then being able to make a fresh cup of coffee from those packets that George Clooney sells on TV. (I’ll leave others to be grateful for George Clooney – you know who you are.). I’m grateful to get a parking space nearby work, and when my commute flows freely through traffic. All quite mundane things I suppose, but it’s perfectly valid to be grateful for them.

Some of these everyday things I am grateful for are quite big really. I’m extremely grateful that my entire, sprawling family are healthy and reasonably happy, and that my partner and I can provide for them, and of course I’m grateful for the partner with whom I share love and laughter.

There are so many things to be grateful for in any given day, all the little things one often doesn’t think about –hot water for a shower, food on the table, someone to bring your post, flick a switch and the lights go on, mod cons, interpersonal interactions, all the little things that go right, or at least don’t go wrong. It’s easy to take it all for granted. Gratitude helps you notice how blessed you truly are.

Just for today I will be grateful

See a list of Reiki precepts

The Power of Self Forgiveness

Is anyone more critical of us than ourselves? As we pass through life we can amass a collection of unattained goals, missed opportunities, judgement errors regrettable actions we took or didn’t take, and other failings.

When we hold on to these failings we can let them define who we are: “I’m not able to do this, I don’t know enough, I’m not skilled enough, I’m not sensitive enough, I’m not good enough, blah, blah, blah.” We might even set up an internal obstacle course where we need to manage our survival by avoiding the things that remind us of our failings.

The more debris we collect from these transgressions against ourselves, the more we block the flow of life, and distance ourselves from the joy of living. And the longer we leave that debris, the more we forget that we are the ones who left it there. The debris becomes the “facts of life”, instead of something over which we have control.

I know what I’m talking about: I’ve been bullied, I’ve been bested, I’ve failed to achieve things in life I was sure I would, things I just had to do. I’ve measured myself against others with negative results. I’ve been depressed and I’ve despaired. And I took it all quite personally, collecting each failing in a spiritual scrap-book to flog myself with. Because that’s what you do with these things – you collected them, then look at them over and over to feel good and miserable.

That is how I stood in the way of my own greatness, of being the person I can be, the person I was born to be. But I’ve realized I can clear the obstacles I’ve put in my own way through self forgiveness.

Self forgiveness is one of the most powerful tools we have to free ourselves of the debris of our personal failings that prevents our lives from flowing freely. It might not always be easy or comfortable. We have to be open to looking closely at specific instances that have caused us pain and believe we can let them go. Only we have the power to find the peace that self forgiveness can give us.

Self forgiveness involves:

Specifically identifying the issue (situation / event / transgression) that needs to be released.
Being grateful for the learning experience that was provided to you by the issue.
Releasing the issue and any residual debris.
Filling any void created releasing the issue with love and light.

I’m giving you the template because I believe it can mean more if you fill in the details yourself and provide your own actions and wording.

In a perfect world we might be able to forgive ourselves everything in one session, but it’s likely these steps need to be repeated for each piece of debris to be cleared, and maybe multiple times for specific issues rooted deep within us.

If any of this rings a bell for you, give yourself a break, forgive yourself.

Just for today I will be kind to all living things, including myself.

See a list of Reiki precepts.

Info Share Double-Shot: Reiki Research and Business Ethics

While trawling the net for inspiration and information, I came across a couple of unrelated items that I wanted to share with you.

We’ve all reported and heard anecdotal evidence about the benefits of Reiki, stories about how people are affected by it. The success stories help to build more success, and quiet any doubts that might arise from time to time.

For those of you who would like a more objective form of validation for a change, the UK Reiki Council website has compiled and summarised a page of research into Reiki. These are scientific studies that were performed under controlled circumstances, each of which provided empirical evidence that Reiki does indeed stand up to objective testing. The page provides a couple of related links, but you’re best bet is to Google the studies if you want more information.

I’m referencing the next article mainly because it’s written by a former Managing Director turned business coach who can use the phrase “business ethics” in a sentence without being ironic. So I filed it under “Hopeful News”.

The article, in today’s Journal calls for a revolution in business to make it more ethical. It’s written by Maybe International founder Brian F Smyth, who has the radical idea that being ethical is actually better for big business than using some of the alternative profit-centered practices currently in place. He also maintains that ethical business practices have a positive impact on the overall health and welfare of people in the business, around the business, and the world in general. Of particular interest to me was the value he placed on human emotion. Sounds like common sense to me.

Brian’s CV includes several years at General Motors, where he served as a Personnel Manager, a Production Manager and a Managing Director.

Maybe International provides Business Coaches who work in partnership with people and organisations to make them stronger, better, happier and more profitable.

Repeat as Needed, Calm Me in the Morning

In my experience, nothing provides a fast acting sense of peace as well as feeding a baby. Probably because I’m picking up on the baby’s emotions, like I was with one of the twins this morning. One second he was a bit distressed, wondering where his next meal was coming from (I presume, it’s been a long time since I was that age), the next second he was sucking hungrily on a bottle, and all the tension was gone from his body. I had a similar reaction. It’s so simple. No meditation, no affirmation, no calling in. You just let it happen.

So anyway boss, that’s why I was late for work this morning.

My Reiki master advised us to keep Reiki simple, don’t overcomplicate it. I’m thinking that some of the rituals we use after attunement to refresh the flow of Reiki in ourselves are, at least in part, techniques that allow me to get out of my own way. Sometime I can feel as clogged as a neglected rain gutter from emotional and psychological debris accumulated over the years Even a powerful river can be impeded by blockage. For me, the ideal is to wash all that debris away and let Reiki flow as simply and effortlessly as the feeling I get from feeding a baby.

Putting the “Me” in “Time”

I want to start by saying that I’m not having a moan in what follows, just making a point about “me” time, and being kind to all living things. I thought I should mention that up front in light of yesterday’s post, where I took so long to get to the point that I’m sure many people thought they were reading a post from a sports blog and may have given up before they got to the part that actually had something to do with Reiki.

Last night was a fairly typical weeknight. I got home from work about 7. While I was out the kettle apparently started spitting fire, which I was disappointed to have missed. I packed the three year old in the car and drove to Tesco’s, the big one that could house at least three 747s. We got a trolley and made our way to the kettle aisle at the back of the shop, then immediately turned around and made our way to the front of the shop for an emergency toilet break. Then we returned to the kettle aisle.

We arrived home with the kettle. I gave our one year old the last bottle of the day and put her to bed while my partner made a week’s worth of dinners for the one year old and the three year old, for which I was grateful since I usually do that.

I came downstairs, emptied the dishwasher, filled it again, and got the baby bottles soaking – because the kettle packed it in earlier we were down to our last pair of made bottles for the twins.

I cajoled the three year old into his jammies and eventually got him to eat his bread and butter and drink his milk before bringing him up to his bedroom, where we went through our usual routine of chat, songs and games for 15 minutes.

I came downstairs and fed the twins their bottles while my partner started preparing something for us to eat. I put them back to bed then finished off our dinner, which we finally got to eat around 11:15. When we were done, my partner fell asleep on the couch while on television the A Team were noisily and chaotically trying to fly a tank – that’s how exhausted she was.

I got up, cleaned the kitchen a bit, washed out over a dozen baby bottles, boiled the kettle and steamed the bottles in two lots, boiling the kettle and letting it sit for a half hour for each lot, so that it would be well into the next afternoon before more bottles needed to be made. I got to bed around 2AM.

Five hours later I started my day. This morning’s commute included a detour to the next town to collect one of our teenagers and his grandmother to bring them to the train station for their trip into Dublin.– he’s got a doctor’s appointment over a bad scrape he got last week.

OK, not every night goes exactly like that, but it does seem like there’s always something. I don’t mind doing any of these things. I am the daddy after all. Caring for my family is in the job description. And none of this gets in the way of my Reiki practice. For example, I’ve called in at the kitchen sink, and used healing hands to get up stubborn wind or treat the usual scratches and scrapes that small children accumulate naturally.

But like anyone, I do get tired, and there are things I would like to do if I could just find a way to fit them in. Many days my “free” time is pretty much my commute in and out of work. I love my family, I don’t aspire to be a hermit, but sometimes I wish there was a mystery day, for example between Wednesday and Thursday, where I could just chill and have more than five consecutive minutes of “me” time, without anyone needing me.

Archangel Metatron, please help me to find time for myself, so that I can achieve a balance in being kind to all living things, including myself.

See a list of Reiki precepts

Transition Basketball

I’ve been up late these past few months with a couple of young lads who are on the bottle every night. Well, they are only ten weeks old, and quite vocal about having their needs met. The three of us have been hanging out in front of the TV watching the NBA playoffs, thanks to ESPN UK, who are providing pretty decent coverage considering there aren’t any NBA teams this side of the Atlantic. The five hour time difference is a bonus at the moment. It helps take the edge off of the middle of the night feeds.

This past weekend we watched the Boston Celtics’ season come to an end, losing the Eastern Conference finals to the Miami Heat in game seven. I’ve been a Celtics fan since I moved to Boston in 1980, when a lanky guy named Larry Bird was running up and down the parquet floor every night. The Celtics may be the Manchester United of the NBA, but I didn’t think they’d get as far as the Conference finals when the playoffs began. The “big three” Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – are still hard to beat but they are past their peak. Everyone expects that the season end also marks the end of their time together as team mates. It’s time to start building the team around the much younger Rajon Rondo, who is already well on his way to basketball greatness.

It’s a common transition. New players come in, have their prime years then inevitably depart through retirement, injury, or trading. Considering that the big three are on the downward slope of that arc, they held on well against the Heat, who have much younger star players, including league MVP Lebron James. The Celtics lost the first two games but won the next three, leaving them in good shape to take the best of seven series.

Then came game six, which made the Celtics big three look as old as they are, while the Heat kept improving. It was a home game for the Celtics, and the fans were relatively quiet throughout. But during the last few minutes of what some commentators call “garbage time” (when you know the game is already over), the Boston fans began a chant of “Let’s Go Celtics” which continued through the end of the game, progressively growing louder even though the fans knew there was no chance tonight. I think it was meant for the team to take with them to the next game, two nights later in Miami. That’s an indication of how much the Celtics fans are emotionally invested in their team.

The idea popped into my head: maybe it would help if I sent them Reiki. Maybe it would give them a bit of a boost. Of course, I dismissed it nearly as soon as I thought it, even chastising myself a bit. It seemed frivolous to be sending Reiki to a basketball team, and perhaps even unethical to be doing something that had the potential of affecting a game.

In game seven it looked like the Celtics might just make it through to the finals, until the fourth quarter when it all fell apart to the point where Boston and Miami both pulled their starters from the game with minutes left to go on the clock. It’s got to be draining to get so far in competition only to come up short, considering the levels of time, energy, and commitment put in by the players and coaching staff. Now compound that with the end of an era. Coach Doc Rivers clearly had tears in his eyes as the clock ran down the final seconds of the series.

It felt good to see most players from both teams on the floor when it was all over; the Celtics congratulating the Heat, and the Heat showing respect for the Celtics. But Celtics Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo were missing from this scene. Those two players seemed to have explicitly shown the most emotional commitment to their failed playoff run. When it was over, each walked alone back to the locker room, with the implication that they were too emotionally distraught to face anyone.

Then I remembered something that my Reiki master said on several occasions. Healing is not always about fixing something – there are going to be times when you can’t. It’s also about helping people cope, to find peace in situations, smooth transitions. Whatever happened in the Conference finals, older Celtics were still going to move on or take diminished roles just like many other less famous people who come to the end of one phase of life and move into another because of age, illness or obsolescence. I’m sure there is a wealth of healing to be done around that aspect of life.

I should have sent Reiki when I first thought of it. It’s not too late now. Thank you Boston Celtics for broadening my notions of when and where it can be beneficial to use Reiki.